A U.K. company, Hybrid Air Vehicles, has announced its Airlander dirigible has successfully completed its first flight.
During the Aug. 17 inaugural flight, the Airlander flew five nautical miles around England’s Cardington Airfield, reaching a height of 500 feet and a maximum speed of 35 knots.
The company reported that “all test objectives were met during the flight. These included the safe launch, flight and landing of the Airlander 10 and a series of gentle turns at increasing speed. Some technical tests on its hull pressure were also undertaken.”
This marks the first step in a test flight program, which will last for a number of months before the airship undergoes a series of trials and demonstrations with prospective customers.
Airships have been touted as an environmentally friendly and efficient option for carrying large amounts of cargo far distances, and their ability to take off and land in a short distance in any environment, including desert, ice, water, or open fields.
They have been proposed as potentially important game-changers for getting food, supplies and medical services to remote and First Nations communities; transporting equipment, people and ore to and from remote mining sites; and serving as a platform for eco-tourism.
Earlier this year, U.S.-based Lockheed Martin announced it had secured a deal with Straightline Aviation to purchase up to 12 of its hybrid airships with a potential value of $480 million.
